ed with assurance, and comfort, and praise, and joyful expectation of glory, when they had lain on their death-beds by this disease. And not only more grown Christians, who have been more ripe for glory, have had these comforts, but also some younger Christians, whose acquaintance with the Lord hath been of no long standing. But mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; the end of that man is peace.'

"I can speak something of mine own knowledge, concerning some of my friends whom I have been withal. I shall instance only in the house where I lived. We were eight in family; three men, three youths, an old woman and a maid; all which came to me, hearing of my stay in town, some to accompany me, others to help me. It was the latter end of September before any of us were touched. The young ones were not idle, but improved their time in praying and hearing, and were ready to receive instruction, and were strangely borne up against the fears of the disease and death, every day so familiar to the view. But at last we were visited, and the plague came in dreadfully upon us. The cup was put into our hand to drink, after a neighbouring family had tasted it, with whom we had much sweet society in this time of sorrow. And first our maid was smitten. It began with a shivering and trembling in her flesh, and quickly seized on her spirits. It was a sad day, which I believe I shall never forget. I had been abroad to see a friend in the city, whose husband was nearly dead of the plague, and she herself visited with it. I came back to see another whose wife was dead of the plague, and he himself under apprehensions that he should die within a few hours. I came home, and the maid was on her deathbed; and another crying out for help, being left alone in a sweating

fainting fit. What was an interest in Christ worth then! What a privilege to have a title to the kingdom of heaven!

"Ministers now had awakening calls to seriousness and fervour in their ministerial work; to preach on the side and brink of the pit, into which thousands were falling; to pray under such near views of eternity, into which many were daily passing, might be a means to stir up the spirit more than ordinary.

"Now there is such a vast concourse of people in the churches where the ministers are to be found, that they cannot many times come near the pulpit doors for the press, but are forced to climb over the pews to them: and such a face is now seen in the assemblies, as seldom was seen before in London-such eager looks, such open ears, such greedy attention, as if every word would be eaten which dropped from the mouths of the ministers.

"If you ever saw a drowning man catch at a rope, you may guess how eagerly many people did catch at the word when they were ready to be overwhelmed by this overflowing scourge which was passing through the city; when death was knocking at so many doors, and God was crying aloud by his judgments; and ministers were now sent to knock, 'cry aloud and lift up your voice like a trumpet.' Then the people began to open the ear and the heart, which were fast shut and barred before. How did they then hearken, as for their lives: as if every sermon were their last: as if death stood at the door of the church, and would seize upon them so soon as they came forth; as if the arrows which flew so thick in the city, would strike them before they could get to their houses; as if they were immediately to appear before the bar of that God, who, by his ministers, was now speaking

unto them. Great were the impressions which the word then made upon many hearts, beyond the power of man to effect, and beyond what the people before ever felt; as some of them have declared. When sin is ripped up and reproved, O the tears that slide down from the eyes! when the judgments of God are denounced, O the tremblings which are upon the conscience! when the Lord Jesus Christ is made known and proffered, O the longing desires and openings of heart unto him! when the richness of the Gospel are displayed, and the promises of the covenant of grace are set forth and applied, O the inward burnings and sweet flames which were in the affections! Now the net is cast and many fishes are taken; the pool is moved by the angel, and many leprous spirits and sin-sick souls are cured. A strange moving there was upon the hearts of multitudes in the city; and I am persuaded that many were brought over effectually unto a closure with Jesus Christ; whereof some died by the plague with willingness and peace, and others remain steadfast in God's way unto this day. But convictions, I believe, many hundreds had, if not thousands, which I wish that none may have stifled, and' with the dog returned to their vomit,' and 'with the sow have wallowed again in the mire,' of their former sins. The work was the more great, because the instruments were most obscure and unlikely; whom the Lord did make choice of the rather, that the glory by ministers and people might be ascribed in full unto himself.

"About the beginning of these ministers' preaching, especially after the first fast together, the Lord begins to remit, and turn his hand, and cause some abatement of the disease.

"Now the citizens, who had dispersed themselves abroad into the

countries, because of the contagion, think of their old houses and trades, and begin to return, though with fearfulness and trembling, lest some of the after drops of the storm should fall upon them. And O that many of them had not brought back their old hearts and their old sins which they had carried away with them! O that there had been a general repentance and reformation, and returning to the Lord that had smitten the city! The Lord gave them leisure and vocation from their trades; had they improved the opportunity, and generally mourned for sin which brought the plague upon the city; had they humbly and earnestly besought the Lord to turn from his fierce anger, which was kindled against London; it might have prevented the desolating judgment by fire which followed. But alas! how many spent their time of leisure in toys and trifles, at best about feeding and preserving their bodies, but no time in serious minding the salvation of their souls! and if some were a little awakened with fear whilst the plague raged so greatly, and they looked upon themselves to be in such danger; yet, when they apprehended the danger to be over, they dropped asleep faster than before. Still they are the same, or worse than formerly; they that were drunken, are drunken still; they that were filthy, are filthy still; and they that were unjust, and covetous, do still persevere in their sinful course. Cozening, and lying, and swearing, and cursing, and Sabbathbreaking, and pride, and envy, and flesh-pleasing, and the like sins, offensive and provoking to God, do abound in London, as if there were no signification in God's judgments by the plague. Sorae return to their houses, and follow their worldly business, and work as hard as they can to fetch up the time they have lost, without

minding and labouring to improve by the judgment, and God's wonderful preservation of them. Others return, and sin as hard as they can, having been taken off for a while from those op. portunities and free liberties for sin which they had before. Most began now to sit down at rest in their houses, when summer was come and the plague did not return; and they bring back all their goods which they had carried into the country because of the plague. They did not imagine they should be forced to remove them again so soon by the great fire."

Our allusion to Vincent's work would be very unjust, if, after the above notice of its historical details, we laid it down without copying a portion of his faithful and striking exhortations. They are seasonable at all times, but more especially at the present moment.

"The first sin of London is slighting of the Gospel. The Gospel in England hath above this hundred years, shined forth out of the clouds of Popery and AntiChristianism, which before did overspread the land; and in no place of England hath the Gospel • been preached with greater power and purity than in London; and what entertainment hath it found; hath it been valued according to its worth and excellency; hath it been received as if it had come down from the God of heaven, expressing his love and good-will towards the children of men, as if it had brought such good news and tidings, as salvation by Jesus Christ?

"Read the eulogium which the Apostle Peter gives of the salvation made known by the Gospel, 1. Pet. i. 10-12. 'Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you; searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, did

signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow; unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things which are now reported unto you, by them that have preached the Gospel unto you, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, which things the angels desire to look into. The Prophets of old did inquire and search, but did not so clearly understand the Gospel as now it is revealed; our Saviour tells his disciples, Luke x. 24, that 'many prophets and kings had desired to see the things which they saw, and had not seen them; and to hear the things which they did hear, and have not heard them; for indeed this mystery was hid from ages and generations, which God then made manifest unto the saints.' Col. i. 26. And the Apostle Paul tells us, that' though the ministration of the law were glorious, insomuch that it made the face of Moses to shine,' unto whom the law was revealed upon the Mount, yet that it had no glory in comparison with the ministration of the Gospel, whose glory did so far excel,” 2 Cor. iii. 7—10. The mysteries of God's wisdom and love revealed in the Gospel, being so glorious, surely are worthy of acceptation and esteem, especially when the angels, who are not so much concerned, desire to look into these things, unto whom it is said, Eph. iii. 10, 'Is made known by the Church, the manifold wisdom of God.' And yet these great things which have been reported by them, who have preached the Gospel, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, have been undervalued in London. The Gospel hath been slighted in London; and though some have been more notoriously guilty, yet who can altogether excuse themselves from this sin?

"All these persons have been

slighters of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the ignorant, the profane, the hypocrite, and the erroneous; and if you place them all in one company, how few will there remain in London that have sincerely and heartily embraced the truth as it is in Jesus, and upon whom the Gospel hath made a powerful and saving impression! And even amongst those that have been affected and converted by the preaching of the Gospel, and had it greatly in esteem at first hearing and believing, how was their esteem of the Gospel fallen, and their affection cooled! Did not Gospel ordinances begin to lose their worth and excellency, and grow tedious and wearisome unto them? O, how generally unthankful was London for Gospel privileges and liberties! Yea, many began to be very nice and wanton, and the Gospel was not relished, unless it was served up with such neatness and dressings, in which some ministers possibly did too much endeavour to please themselves and the people; and then the sauce was more relished than the food itself, and the appetite of many was so spoiled, that plain, wholesome, soul-saving truths, would not go down with them. Londoners began to be glutted with the Gospel; and, like the Israelites in the wilderness, their souls began to loathe the manna which came down from heaven. A strange curiosity there was in spiritual palates which, in many, turned to a loathing of the food, insomuch that the Gospel became a burden unto them, and thence it was that many turned away their ears from the truth, and were turned unto errors; and they could not endure to hear sound doctrine, but having itching ears, heaped up unto themselves teachers according to their lusts.' 2 Tim. iv.

prize the Gospel, none of them according to its dignity and worth.

"If London do not repent ere long and labour to recover its relish and esteem of the Gospel, and make more evident demonstrations of it, I fear the Lord will quite remove the Gospel from them; and then nothing is like to follow but desolation and wo."

ADDRESS OF THE MANAGERS OF THE COLONIZATION SOCIETY.

The African Repository for the month of June contains an address of much interest, which is thus introduced:

"The practicability of colonizing in Africa, any number of the Free People of Colour of the United States that may choose to emigrate, being demonstrated, the Managers of the American Colonization Society, address their fellow citizens, under a deep conviction that this whole nation is now summoned to aid the work, by the most weighty considerations of interest, duty, and charity."

The address is too long to be inserted entire in our pages, but we give the concluding part, in which an appeal is made to certain descriptions of persons and associations, relative to the collection of funds and the employment of influence, in behalf of the great enterprise over which the managers preside. We rejoice to see that the colonization cause is gaining friends in every part of our country; and indeed we see not how any friend to humanity, civilization, and the propagation of Christianity, can fail to be a friend, and to the extent of his ability, a patron too, of this most benevolent enterprise. We think it high time that it should be countenanced and supported by the general government. But while this is neglected, there is a more earnest call on pri